Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
US military brass visit China. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, will visit the city of Shenyang with his Chinese counterpart to observe an exercise by the People’s Liberation Army. Amid tensions over North Korea and trade, the goal is to build mutual trust despite the “many difficult issues” the nations face.
NAFTA talks kick off in Washington. Delegates from Canada, Mexico, and the US will revisit the North American Free Trade Agreement, aiming to get a new deal in place early next year. US president Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to ditch the pact during his presidential campaign.
The UK unveils crucial post-Brexit plans. The government is weighing several options for the Northern Irish border—one of the stickiest Brexit issues. Proposals include a new customs border, a temporary customs union, or an entirely new trade partnership.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump backtracked on his condemnation of Nazis and white separatists. In a heated exchange with reporters, the president said “there is blame on both sides” (paywall) for the deadly unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend, including “alt-left” groups that were “very, very violent.” His comments could exacerbate the rising criticism from business leaders and fellow Republicans.
North Korea dialed back threats to Guam—for now. Kim Jong-un’s regime said it would not nuke the US territory, agreeing to hold off on military action to keep an eye on the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees.” That’s straight from Pyongyang’s playbook of ramping tensions up and down to suit its needs—the next escalation could come as soon as next week (paywall).
The US government rapped Uber’s knuckles. The ride-sharing company agreed to revamp its privacy policy and submit to 20 years of outside audits over its use of an internal tool that was illicitly used to track riders. The US also cited a 2015 data breach that leaked information on 50,000 Uber’s drivers.
Tech giants turned to the bond market. Apple announced plans to sell $2.5 billion in bonds in Canada, with the proceeds going to “general corporate purchases,” and Amazon is offering up $16 billion in bonds to finance its acquisition of Whole Foods. The news follows a series of mega bond deals this year, including a debut offering from Tesla last week.
Bill Gates gave a fortune to charity. He gave $5 billion in Microsoft shares to his foundation, his biggest gift in 17 years, which whittled his stake in the company down to 1.3%. Despite donating $35 billion over the years, he remains the world’s richest man.
Quartz obsession interlude
Alison Griswold on everything VCs used to love about Travis Kalanick: “Uber has never bothered with asking permission or even begging forgiveness—it simply does what it wants. That was just fine with investors when Uber was growing faster than they’d ever thought possible and pairing fiery regulatory skirmishes with PR-friendly deliveries of kittens and ice cream.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
It’s an awesome time / to be retailing. Unless / you’re a retailer
Matters of debate
Who owns the rights to art created by an AI? Courts and copyright officials can no longer presume that authorship is a human phenomenon.
Don’t let fascists hide behind “free speech.” Defending the civil rights of bigots can, in some cases, leave us all less free.
“Founder-friendly investing” is on the wane. Blue Apron, Snap, and Uber are cautionary tales for newly wary VCs.
Surprising discoveries
A Swiss supermarket is selling bug burgers. A revamped food law also allows the sale of “insect balls” in a push for sustainable agriculture.
Gamekeepers are breeding rare colors of wildlife for hunters. Golden wildebeests and pure white springboks command premium prices in South Africa.
A $70 robot that mimics a sea-turtle may eventually reach Mars. It consists mostly of cardboard plus an inexpensive Raspberry Pi computer.
Facebook is turning pizza makers into tech companies. Online ordering, bots, and e-commerce are paramount for Domino’s and Papa John’s.
Scientists have figured out how magic mushrooms’ active ingredient is made. It may set the stage for “biotechnological production” of psilocybin.
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